CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP

The Club Championship is an annual event, comprising 9 events, 3 each at 10k, 10m and 1/2m. The races are mainly in Kent, with the occasional excursion into Sussex or Essex. Points are scored in two ways - firstly by finishing position, and secondly by earning bonus points if a personal best is achieved. There are four categories in the Championship:

• Ladies
• Senior Men (Up to 39 yrs old)
• Male Vets (40 - 49 yrs old)
• Male Supervets (50 yrs +)

A partially completed list of past winners can found here.

For those of you who didn't hear Andrew's announcement at the AGM there has been an alteration to the Championship for this year. With an increased number of Harriers now taking part in Club Championship events the Ladies, Senior Male and Male Vets competitions have now been split into two divisions, to ensure that there a greater level of competition.

The full rules are as follows:

Categories
1. There are four categories within the Club Championship: Ladies, Senior Men, Male Veterans (40+), Male Super-Veterans (50+).
2. The category within which a runner competes is decided for the year based on the runner's gender and age on the date of the first club championship race they complete in the year.
The runner then remains in that group for the whole of the calendar year.
3. The Ladies, Senior Men and Male Vet 40s groups are split in to two divisions, A and B, based on performance.
Scoring
4. The scoring system is the same in all divisions.
5. The first runner home in each division receives 15 points, the second 14 and so on down to 5.
6. All runners who complete a Club Championship event will receive at least 5 points.
7. Bonus points are awarded for setting a personal best: 3 points for setting that personal best, plus an extra point for each full minute under a previous personal best, up to a maximum of 7 minutes.
8. A personal best is defined as the best time set since 1st January in the last three years.
9. Where available, positions within races are now decided by chip times. Where these are not available, gun times will be used.
New members
10. When a new member takes part in his or her first race, he or she will be placed in the A division if he or she beats TWO current runners from that division; otherwise, he or she will go into the B division.
11. The same rule will apply to more established club members who take a break from club championship races and then return.
End of season
12. At the end of the season, the division sizes will be rebalanced, based on the actual number of runners taking part within the category.
13. The winner of the B division will receive automatic promotion to the A division for the following year. The lowest scorer within the A division will be relegated to the B division.
14. Any runner who scores zero for a season will be removed from the list entirely, and allocated to a division as if he/she were a new member when he/she returns.
Eligibility
15. All club members who take part in a designated club championship race will be awarded points for that race.
16. A member whose subscription remains unpaid after 30th June will be ineligible to receive points for any races after that date, until the subscription is paid in full.

2010 Club Championships - Current Positions after 6 races

Current Best Times - 10k/10m/Half-Marathon/Marathon - as at July 7th 2010

The 2010 schedule is confirmed as follows:

Links to all the races can be found on the Club Championship 2010 thread on the message board.

2009 Club Championship - Final Standings

2008 Club Championship - Final Standings

2008 Club Championship - Category Winners

lease note that the 10 Mile races will be the best 2 out of 4 this year. This is because we were asked to take the Canterbury 10 out of the championship because a large group of harriers were going out the night before, but in fairness to those who had already entered we decided to leave it in.

In order to make sure that everyone has the points they're entitled to, Mike Murdoch has asked that those Harriers who have, or who are intending to compete in Club Championships supply him with the following information - previous personal best time (for 10k, 10m and 1/2 m), when it was achieved and at what race. Mike can be contacted by e-mail, or by phone on (01634) 379892.

2008 Race Reports (By Mike Murdoch)

Race 1: Canterbury 10 – 27th January

This year’s competition kicked off at the Canterbury 10, organised by Invicta East Kent. A large field of 873 took part, including 31 Maidstone Harriers.
David Thompson, Nathan Chapman, Lyndon Gurr and Mike Murdoch finished under 70 minutes, and were in the first 100 finishers. Jonathan Harrison achieved a good PB but missed the 70 minute target by just 6 seconds.

Ron Carr was first Supervet, 7 minutes ahead of David Northcroft, and Paula Stockton was first Female, 3 minutes ahead of Julie Stoppani.
Personal bests were recorded by Lyndon Gurr, Jonathan Harrison and David Hutchinson.

Race 2: Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon – 24th February

28 harriers took part in the second race of this year’s competition, along with over 1300 others. Everyone looked forward to the big hill at the 7 mile stage!

This year’s race was started by the local celebrity and Olympic Gold Medallist Dame Kelly Holmes.

David Thompson, Lyndon Gurr and Mike Murdoch (all M40 vets) finished under 90 minutes, and were in the first 100 finishers. Once again David Thompson was the first harrier to complete the course, and 36th overall, despite having cycled from Maidstone to Tunbridge Wells before the race. How does he do it?

Nick Bennett was the first Senior Male in a time of 1:32:43, Ron Carr was first Supervet in a time of 1:37:39, and Paula Stockton was first Female in a time of 1:39:00.

Personal bests were recorded by Lyndon Gurr and David Northcroft.

Race 3: Folkestone 10 – 21st March

Almost 500 runners converged on Hythe Common to begin the 25th Folkestone 10. To mark the occasion some presentations were made before the race, which was started by the 1983 London Marathon winner Mike Gratton. 26 Maidstone Harriers took part this year.

M50 Supervet David Davies made one of his infrequent appearances, just to show that he is still the fastest harrier in the club, finishing in a time of 1:03:13. He was followed closely by David Thompson (1:03:26) and Ian Forrest (1:04:37). Nathan Chapman, Lyndon Gurr, Mike Murdoch and David Thornby all finished under 70 minutes, and were in the first 100 finishers.

Last year’s Club Champion Julie Stoppani was first Female, 7 minutes ahead of the second lady, Verity Currie.
The weather was very windy and the headwind when we were returning to Hythe made the second half of the race a real endurance event. Despite the wind, personal bests were recorded by Nathan Chapman and Verity Currie.

Race 4: Paddock Wood Half Marathon – 30th March

A large crowd of 1630 turned out for this pre-London favourite, 300 more than last year. This included 35 harriers. David Thompson was the first harrier (again), in a time of 1:22:19, 2 minutes quicker than his Tunbridge Wells time. Ian Forrest was second harrier, achieving a personal best of 1:22:57. Nathan Chapman and Mike Murdoch were the only other harriers to finish under 90 minutes.

Grant Woodman was first Supervet, in 1:35:50, 3 minutes ahead of last year’s Club Champion Ron Carr. Julie Stoppani was first Female, in 1:37:45, ahead of new harrier Sharon Barnett and Paula Stockton.

As usual, this was a popular race for achieving PBs. Congratulations to Ian Forrest, Mike Murdoch, Russell Morling, Julie Stoppani, Matt Fraser, Michael White, David Northcroft, Andrew Burgess and Mailynne Woolley. A special mention is reserved for Russell Morling whose PB was 8 minutes quicker than his previous best.

After this race the top two in each club championship group were David Northcroft and Ron Carr (Supervets); David Thompson and Mike Murdoch (Vets); Martyn Earl and Nathan Chapman (Senior Men); Julie Stoppani and Sarah Brenton (Ladies).

Race 5: Whitstable 10K – 5th May

23 harriers took part in the Whitstable 10k on bank holiday Monday. As usual this event reached its race limit weeks beforehand, and several harriers were unable to get in. Despite its reputation as a fast flat course, only one harrier managed to finish under 40 minutes. Congratulations to Ian Forrest for being the first harrier and for getting a PB of 38:48. Personal bests were also achieved by Michael White, David Northcroft, David Hutchinson, Kay Risby and Steve Wing.

Julie Stoppani and Paula Stockton were joint first Females, finishing in 46:00. Russell Morling was the first Male Vet and Ron Carr was the first Supervet.
After this race the top two in each club championship group were David Northcroft and Ron Carr (Supervets); Michael White and David Thompson (Vets); Martyn Earl and Ian Forrest (Senior Men); Julie Stoppani and Sarah Brenton (Ladies).

Race 6: Larkfield 10K – 18th May

Race No.6 was the Larkfield 10K which is organised by neighbouring club Larkfield AC. This year the route had to be revised at the last minute so instead of running to Birling and Ryarsh we ran round the Leybourne Lakes and Snodland. It was still a nice course and memorable features included an interesting spiral footbridge at the half way stage and a short sharp hill at the end. 333 runners finished the race, including 25 Maidstone Harriers.

David Davies was first harrier and 12th overall in a time of 36:45. Nathan Chapman (38:13) and David Thompson (38:20) were the only other harriers to finish under 40 minutes. Paula Stockton was first Female in a time of 44:35.

Personal bests were recorded by David Thompson, Julie Stoppani and Verity Currie.

After this race the top three in each club championship group are:

Supervets = David Northcroft (93 pts), Ron Carr (72) and David Hutchinson (59).
Vets = David Thompson (78 pts), Mike Murdoch (70), and Michael White (67).
Senior Men = Martyn Earl (64 pts), Nathan Chapman (61) and Ian Forrest (51).
Ladies = Julie Stoppani (95 pts), Sarah Brenton (72) and Paula Stockton (72).

Race 7: Dartford Half Marathon – 20th July

21 harriers took part in the third and final half marathon in this year’s competition. Graham Clarkson and Ian Forrest were the only harriers who finished under 90 minutes.

David Thornby was the first Supervet in a time of 1:32:42, and Julie Stoppani was first Female in a time of 1:38:37.
Personal bests were recorded by Michael White and Liane Foord.
The results of this race meant there were some changes at the top of two of the groups. Ian Forrest moved up from 3rd into 1st place in the Senior Men category, and Lyndon Gurr moved up from 4th into 2nd place in the Male Vet category.
After this race the top two in each club championship group were David Northcroft and Ron Carr (Supervets); David Thompson and Lyndon Gurr (Vets); Ian Forrest and Martyn Earl (Senior Men); Julie Stoppani and Sarah Brenton (Ladies).

Race 8: Sittingbourne 10 – 5th October

20 mad harriers braved the wet and windy conditions to compete at the Sittingbourne 10. Only 159 runners took part this year. Very appropriately, the goody bag included a towel.

First harrier to finish was M40 veteran Graham Clarkson, in a time of 63:25. He was followed by 3 senior men - Yann Borges, Ian Forrest and Jonathan Harrison. Jonathan achieved a PB by more than 4 minutes, finishing in 67:01.

7 harriers finished in the first 20, and 3 harriers finished in the first 10, but Sittingbourne Striders beat us on points to win the team prize.

Only 3 Maidstone ladies entered this race and they almost crossed the line together, with Julie Stoppani finishing just 30 seconds ahead of Paula Stockton, who in turn was only 30 seconds ahead of Sharon Barnett. Julie and Sharon both achieved PBs. Paula’s result meant she moved up into 2nd place in the club championship table.

After this race the top two in each group were David Northcroft and Ron Carr (Supervets); David Thompson and Lyndon Gurr (Vets); Ian Forrest and Martyn Earl (Senior Men); Julie Stoppani and Paula Stockton (Ladies).

Race 9: Ashford Givauden 10K – 12th October

A fantastic turnout of 30 harriers took part in the ever-popular Julie Rose 10K, now called the Ashford Givauden 10K.

David Davies was the first harrier in a time of 36:41, earning himself 15 points in the Supervets age group. Ian Forrest was the first senior male, and he took almost 1 minute off his PB to finish in 37:57. Lyndon Gurr took maximum points in the M40 category.

Sharon Barnett and Julie Stoppani were the first two ladies, finishing only 2 seconds apart in 44:04 and 44:06 respectively. Paula Stockton was only 21 seconds further behind, in 44:27. As with the previous week at Sittingbourne, Sharon and Julie both achieved PBs.

Personal bests were also achieved by David Northcroft and Mark Rawson.

David Thompson could have won the club championship at this race (he was the first Male Vet at 5 previous races) but his absence allowed Lyndon Gurr to move into 1st place.

With only one race left, the top three in each club championship group are:

Supervets = David Northcroft (94 pts), Ron Carr (87) and David Hutchinson (76).
Vets = Lyndon Gurr (92 pts), David Thompson (78), and Russell Morling (74).
Senior Men = Ian Forrest (98 pts), Martyn Earl (76), and Matthew Fraser (72).
Ladies = Julie Stoppani (102 pts), Paula Stockton (86) and Sharon Barnett (83).

Race 10: Thanet 10 - 7th December

The final race in this year’s championship was the Thanet 10, held on the morning of our own Ditton Turkey Run, thus giving some runners the chance to run both races! The field at Thanet was smaller than usual, with only 291 finishers, including 14 harriers.

Lee Pearson was the first harrier to finish, in a time of 1:08:16, the only harrier to finish under 70 minutes. Ian Hoad was first Vet to finish, just ahead of Michael White who achieved a PB. Ian’s points meant he moved up into 5th position, and Russell and Michael moved up into 2nd and 3rd positions. David Northcroft was first Supervet to finish, picking up a few extra points to consolidate his position at the top of the table. He was almost 10 minutes in front of David Hattersley, who moved up into 4th position.

Sharon Barnett was the first Female to finish, in a personal best time of 1:14:23. Her points awarded for this race meant she finished the year in joint-first position with the same number of points as Julie Stoppani.

In summary, the Club Champions for 2008 are David Northcroft (Supervets), Lyndon Gurr (Vets), and Ian Forrest (Senior Men). The winner of the Ladies trophy cannot be announced yet as Julie and Sharon have finished on equal points. The 10K, 10M and Half Marathon prize winners will be announced at the club awards evening.

2007 Club Championship

The final positions for 2007 can be found here.

2006 Championship

After the 9th and final race in the 2006 series, the top three in each group are:

Supervets = Ron Carr (88 pts), Grant Woodman (82 pts), and David Hattersley (75 pts)
Vets = Michael White (94 pts), David Thompson (93 pts), and Ian Hoad (84 pts).
Senior Men = Richard Unwin (100 pts), Matthew Fraser (84 pts), and Mike Murdoch (64 pts).
Ladies = Verity Currie (98 pts), Liane Foord (85 pts), and Sarah Brenton (76 pts).

The full results can be found by clicking on the categories above.